Motorbikes in bus lanes – what's your view?

A bus lane road sign at the Old street roundabout, London. Photograph: Jonathan Hordle/Rex Features

Back in 2008 when I first heard that the Major of London planned to allow motorbikes in bus lanes I was flummoxed. Thanks to the congestion charge and more cyclists than ever on the streets, I was starting to feel like I lived in a truly 21st century city, so it just didn't make sense that our new, bicycle-loving leader Boris Johnson would take such a retrograde step.

Three years on and midway through a second 18-month trial I still don't get it. The results of the first trial were deemed inconclusive, but they certainly didn't show that the policy's aims of safer journeys for motorcyclists or relieved congestion had been realised. In fact, Charlie Lloyd of London Cycling Campaign has said: "They actually showed an increased risk to motorcyclists, so the scheme should have been abandoned, but instead they decided to do another trial, this time with a driver awareness campaign."

As to whether it made the traffic move faster, Lloyd says: "The average speed of motorcyclists went up by 10mph but it didn't appear to make traffic as a whole move faster."

Then why do another trial? "The motorcycle lobby are a powerful force in London politics, and it was one of Boris's campaign promises and, whatever you think about him, he does try to see them through."

Bus lanes used to be a relative safe haven for cyclists, especially once you'd worked out the mostly predictable, if at times a little bolshie, behaviour of the buses. But the introduction of these super-fast two-wheelers has changed all that. I'm not a particularly anxious cyclist but nothing sends shivers down my spine more than a motorbike roaring past my right shoulder (aside from a fast-approaching wobbly skip lorry that is). I dread to think how a new cyclist or occasional cycle hire scheme user must feel.

Danny Williams, a blogger at Cyclists in the City, agrees: "I don't like being cut up by motorbikes passing me at 50mph only a foot away. If they pass slowly and look out for fellow two-wheelers, I don't mind them. But I find that a sizeable minority of motorbikes just use the bus lanes like a motorway." Andreas Kambanis, who blogs as the London Cyclist is another who has expressed concern at new cyclists being discouraged by motorbikes in bus lanes.

Such effects are inevitably hard to measure. Do motorbikes in the bus lanes actually put people off cycling or just unsettle them and make their journey less enjoyable? For women in particular, it's the former, so says a 2009 study by sustainable travel campaigners Sustrans into what stops women from cycling. Sustrans said: "The most common reason for women not cycling was not feeling it was safe enough, and 33% of those they spoke to said if cycle lanes were kept clear of all vehicles except buses, it would encourage them to cycle more."

Perhaps us cyclists are being overly sectarian and not seeing the bigger picture of shared road use. As Charlotte Barnes, who blogs at velopoly.com and rides both a bike and motorcycle, says: "I think as cyclists we have to be sympathetic to the needs of the city as a whole and PTWs [Powered Two-Wheelers] are a part of the overall solution in bringing down congestion." Also, motorbikes are allowed in the bus lanes in other cities such as Bristol and Belfast, and low-powered motorbikes are even allowed on rural Dutch cycle lanes.

But, says Charlie Lloyd: "What works in Belfast won't necessarily work in London as the volume of both cyclists and motorcyclists in the capital is far greater. Although Bristol was one of the first cities to allow motorcycles in bus lanes I would not say that it works well."

We need a little more tolerance from all road users, and cyclists need to accept that they need to share the roads with motorcyclists. Our reaction to the strong campaign by the cycle lobby against motorbikes in the bus lanes is sadness. Motorcyclists share a lot of issues with cyclists, from vulnerability against cars to pot-holes and poor road design. There's also the eco side; cyclists produce no emissions and motorbikes produce on average 30 per cent less CO2 emissions than cars.

It's important for motorcyclists to be in the bus lanes as this can reduce rider vulnerability if they are used properly. The [first 18 month] TfL trial showed no threat to cyclists' safety from motorbikes in the actual bus lane.

Speeding motorbikes can be a problem, there are some bad eggs, but that's true of car drivers and cyclists too.

I empathise with the vulnerability of motorcyclists, and feel a greater kinship with them than any other road user, but unless the second trial shows significant evidence that they are safer when allowed to ride in bus lanes it seems crazy to continue with the scheme.

I understand that we don't live in a biketopia, where friends can cycle across a London bridge five abreast chatting about their day (though how good would that be?), but as cycling is the most environmentally friendly travel option surely local government should champion it more than other modes of transport and make it as safe and attractive to new users as possible.

As Andreas Kambanis says: "I strongly believe TfL should encourage cycling over other modes of transport. If, as a cyclist, I could choose the type of environment I'd like to cycle in then one without noisy and polluting motorbikes speeding along next to me would be preferred."

What do you think?

• Sam Haddad is the editor of Cooler, a sport and style magazine for young women